The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten is a slice-of-life romantic-comedy light novel by Saeki-san. It was adapted into a 12-episode anime series by Project No.9. The studio behind Higehiro, the story about a guy who picks up a high school runaway, who then cooks & cleans for him and tries to get his affection.
Our story here centers around the MC Amane Fujimiya who lucks out with the prettiest girl in his high school Mahiru Shiina, dubbed “Angel”. She volunteered to cook for him and clean his apartment.. pretty much becoming his housewife simply because he was a nice guy who gave her an umbrella. Or how the story portrays it she went “damn, bitch you live like this?” after seeing his dirty flat.
There is no unique concept or gimmick, it is just two characters falling in love with no drama, what is not to like?
Romances are some of the hardest to review. What makes a good romance for to you?
Is needles melodrama required?
Does it need to be funny, but balanced enough for the romance to flow?
Does it just need to be “wholesome” and you’ll forgive any mediocre qualities as long as it makes you feel good?
All is fine, but I believe the core of a good romance should be the main characters if you like the duo and enjoy their characterization, interactions, and progression.
Amane's characterization is that of an inferior version of Miyamura , a gloomy guy with trust issues, who looks hot if he fixes his hair. Slowly becoming more of an open person as he spends time with his wife. He has no real worth mentioning traits or hobbies that would make Mahiru fall for him, maybe his ordinariness is the key factor to her interest?
Meanwhile, Mahiru is the pretty perfect girl who is his shining beacon, helping Amane to change himself and herself for the better. Both become more open and true to themselves.
The show is not bad, it's just flavorless and mediocre. It's like your generic Isekai of the season, but here you have people gushing over it because it is so “wholesome”. Hey, I like wholesome stuff too! It's why I adore Kobayashi, but that show has so many other qualities to list.
The story here IS boring, it doesn’t help that a good 70% of the story literally takes place in Amane’s apartment (you’ll be seeing that drywall and couch a lot). The good thing I can say is that there is genuine progress in their relationship as the episodes go, and the way they form their relationship feels natural, somewhat.
The comedy isn’t over the top, but it’s not even funny. It all boils down to scenes of Amane letting out a sigh whenever the side characters act annoying. And speaking of the side characters, they're not worth mentioning at all.
Should you watch Angel Next Door? If you’d like to watch a simple show, with no drama you can try it. Or invest in some wish fulfillment or wholesomeness then I guess why not?
For me, this show is as boring as Shikimori.